Look After You
by BrokenShardss
Summary: Fangel One shot. Set during the Angel episode 5x05, Life of the Party. Faith comes to Wolfram and Hart and reveals some surprising news.


Lorne led Angel across the lobby, pointing out important party guests along the way. "Well, so over there we have the Britzai representatives. We can get to them later. Oh, and there's the elder of the Fell Brotherhood. And over there is… oh... my." Lorne stared off into space behind Angel with a glazed look over his eyes.

Angel turned around to see what could have possibly rendered Lorne speechless, and he was met with the last thing he would have expected.

A pair of long, shapely legs that were nestled deeply in black pumps strolled across the floor towards Angel. A tight, red strapless dress clung to her torso and accentuated all of her curves as she moved. The long brown hair that flowed over her shoulders, accompanied with a classic smirk finished off the look of this gorgeous girl.

As she reached the two men, she stopped and grinned. "So I was wondering, how is it possible that Angel threw a party, and I wasn't invited?" She casually brushed a strand of hair behind her ear, as if it was perfectly normal for her to be here.

Angel stood there, dumbstruck. "Faith."

She turned her focus to him and lightly smiled. "Hey big guy."

"What… what are you doing here?"

"I'm here for your party. Which, by the way, I'm still bitter about not being invited to." She cut her eyes at him in an accusatory manner.

"It's more Lorne's party, really."

Faith switched her attention to Lorne and glared at him.

"Sorry, pumpkin. I didn't think a slayer would go over too well at a party filled with demons." He shrugged apologetically.

"Yeah, sure. I doubt the thought of inviting me even crossed your mind." A playful smile graced her dark red lips as she spoke.

Angel smiled along with her and reached out his arms in a friendly hug. "I'm glad you're here." Pulling her in, he squeezed her gently to his body.

Faith pulled out of his embrace and laid a hand on his shoulder. "And here I thought you were against hugging."

He slightly shrugged his shoulders. "I make exceptions for certain people."

A happy grin spread across her face as she let her hand drop back by her side.

"Well look at this. The girl's here for less than a minute and she's already making you enjoy the party. I think we should keep her around more often." Lorne lifted his Sea Breeze up in a mock toast and pressed the glass to his lips.

Faith laughed loudly at Lorne's comment. She was about to respond when a certain blonde vampire showed up. "Spike?"

"Faith?" Spike stopped in his tracks and stared at the girl. "Why are you here?"

"Could ask you the same thing. Last I saw, you were being a little heroic ball of sunshine down in the hellmouth." Faith could hear Angel's muffled laughter at her analogy. "Not to say that I mind Sunnydale being a crater."

"Wolfram and bleeding Hart brought me back somehow, and now I'm stuck in this hellhole."

"Wait, stuck? How's that work?"

"He's tied to this place. We don't know why." Angel groaned inwardly at the thought of Spike becoming a permanent fixture in his life.

"Trippy."

"It get's worse." Spike's voice dripped with pure frustration. He walked up until he was standing in front of Faith. "Hit me."

She cocked an eyebrow and looked to Angel for approval. When no one stopped her, she shrugged and swung back to deliver a punch to his face. Unfortunately, her hand never made contact and she stumbled through the incorporeal Spike. Angel caught her before she fell completely on her face and helped her to stand back up. "What the hell?"

"I'm a ghost… of sorts."

"Right…" She gave up on an attempt of feigning sympathy and chewed on her bottom lip to cover her awkwardness. She hadn't come here to exchange small talk with peroxide boy. After a moment, she peered around the room and decided to find some other people she knew. "Hey, I'm gonna go see if I can find Gunn and Wes." She stuck out her thumb and motioned behind her to accompany her statement. "I'll catch up with you guys later."

Angel's face fell at the thought of being left alone at this horrible party again.

Lorne nodded to Faith and took a quick drink before speaking. "Sorry again about not inviting you, crumb cake."

"It's alright. Girl just gets lonely, that's all." Looking over at Angel, she kept her gaze locked with his as she spoke. "I missed you."

Lorne overlooked her pointed statement and replied happily. "We all missed you too, sunshine!"

She gave him a half-hearted smile and left to search the crowd for Wes.

Spike broke the silence. "Well now, wasn't that awkward. What is it with you and slayers, Angel?"

"What are you talking about?" Angel wasn't in the mood to deal with Spike's annoyances.

"You and Faith."

"What?" Angel replied with an incredulous tone in his voice.

Spike stared up at the ceiling and shook his head. "God, you really are dense, aren't you?" He chuckled to himself and left a confused Angel standing with Lorne.

"What did he mean by that?"

Lorne shrugged. "He's just being Spike."

Angel stared off in the direction where Faith had headed. "Yeah. I guess."

------

Faith caught up with Fred and Wesley around the refreshments table. "Hey you two."

Wesley glanced up wearing a boyish grin on his face. "Oh, hello there."

Faith tried her best to hold back the burst of laughter she felt in her chest. "Having a good time?"

Before Wesley could answer, Fred practically threw herself at Faith in an uncomfortable hug. "Faith!"

Faith felt the wind completely blown out of her lungs at the sudden impact. "Hi, Fred." She pried the tiny girl's arms off of her body and moved back a few steps. "Seriously guys, lay off the booze."

Fred and Wesley shared confused glances. Wesley piped up, "We're drunk?"

Faith's laughter echoed throughout the room.

------

Angel heard Faith laughing and smiled. It was a good sound. She had come a long way from the girl who had begged him to take her life. He watched her movements intently as she talked to his friends. There was something different about her, something almost mesmerizing. He was so transfixed by his thoughts that he didn't even notice when she walked up to him.

"Hello? Earth to Angel?" She waved her hand back and forth in front of his face.

Angel snapped out of his trance and looked down at her. "Oh, uh, hey. Did you want something?"

"Yeah, actually." She rose up on her toes and slowly leaned in towards him.

Angel felt a rush of confusion and anticipation as she moved closer. He prepared himself for what he knew was coming… but it never happened.

Faith whispered quietly in his ear. "Where's the bathroom?" She pulled away, her cheeks a pale red color from embarrassment.

Angel couldn't help but laugh at his stupidity.

"You're laughing at me?"

His eyes widened and he quickly rushed to defend himself. "No, no. I, um, it was just that I…" He sighed deeply. "The bathroom's right around the corner."

Faith scoffed lightly. "I don't know why I put up with you." With that, she turned and left for the bathroom.

Angel kicked the wall in frustration. "What is wrong with me?"

------

Faith exited the bathroom and nearly crashed into Lorne. "Sorry," she grumbled.

"Oh, what's with the long face?"

"It's nothing." She tried to brush past him, but Lorne blocked her way.

"Clearly it's something." Lorne guided her over to a bench and sat down.

"Look, Lorne, I'm fine. I don't need a pep talk."

Lorne pursed his lips together in a knowing fashion. "You're hiding something, love bug."

Faith rolled her eyes at the nickname. Sighing deeply, she decided to give him the simplest explanation. "It's Angel. He just really… confuses me sometimes."

"I know that feeling," he replied sarcastically. "But I think our big man has a soft spot for you. You should tell him how you feel."

"Yeah, like that would help."

"Just talk to him about whatever it is that's bothering you. It might help." He gave her a small smile of reassurance.

"Forget it. There is no way I'm gonna talk to Angel about this."

------

"Hey, Angel, can I talk to you?" Faith pulled him away from a group of Wolfram and Hart employees.

He was surprised by her sudden action, but he agreed to go along. "Yeah. We can talk in my office."

She followed him through the large double doors and gently shut them as she entered. Once they were alone, she walked up to face Angel. "I need to tell you something."

"What is it?" Angel couldn't seem to grasp where she was going with this.

"You've always been there for me. Always protecting me, or saving me and…" She took a deep breath. "I think in my heart I've known it for a long time, but I was too scared to admit it to myself… let alone you."

"Faith, I don't understand."

She shut her eyes tightly and sucked in another shaky breath. As she reopened her eyes, she slowly spoke. "I think what I'm trying to say is… I love you, Angel."

Angel's mouth dropped open in pure shock from her confession. "What?"

"I'm in love with you. I always have been." She gradually started to close the gap between the two of them.

"Faith, I…" He still couldn't believe that this was really happening. But despite the strangeness of it all, it felt right.

"I just needed you to know." She lifted her hand and grazed it across his cheek, tracing the soft curves of his jaw.

He didn't know what to say in return. Part of him screamed that it was a trick, but something deep inside desperately wanted it to be true. Ignoring what his instincts told him, he cautiously raised his hand and softly placed it on the back of her head. He slowly pulled her closer, worried that if he moved too quickly she would vanish from his arms. The warmth of her breath caressed his cold skin as their faces almost touched, only inches apart. Her red lips were practically screaming out to him, but he held on to the moment. When he stopped, Faith opened her eyes and looked up at him in puzzlement. He caught her gaze and searched her eyes, trying to find proof that this was real. A warm smile shone through the shadows, and all doubts left his mind. Dipping his head down lower, he felt the briefest sensation of her lips against his own. Before it went any further, the doors to Angel's office flew open.

"Angel? You in here?" Fred and the rest of the gang flowed in through the open door.

Faith and Angel rapidly broke apart, hoping no one noticed.

Spike sensed their tension and broke out in an ear to ear grin. "I knew it! You and the slayer! Good on you, mate!"

Angel let out a low growl. "Spike."

"What's his damage?" Faith gestured towards Spike and looked to the group for an explanation.

"Lorne's doing something to all of us." Wesley stumbled drunkenly as he talked. "Everything he told us to do, we're doing."

Faith felt like she was hit with a ton of bricks. That's why she had told Angel that she loved him. She turned to look at Angel and could see that he was coming to the same realization. "Angel, I…"

Angel purposely ignored Faith and moved toward Wesley. "Do you know how to stop this?"

Wesley gave him a slow nod. "I checked my books."

Lorne groaned. "More like I read them to him. Apparently it's because I had my sleep removed."

Wesley nodded again. "But there's a problem. If we don't put his sleep back soon it can mani… manif… manifest!" He held up his finger in triumph.

Angel gave him a quizzical look. "Manifest?" Just then a loud scream could be heard coming from the lobby.

"Guess that's our cue." Faith put on a bleak smile and brushed past Angel out into the lobby.

Angel couldn't figure out what was going on in her head. More than anything, he wanted to grab her and tell her that he felt the same way, but he fought the urge. He sighed and followed her out into the crowd of people.

"Somebody really dipped his chip." Harmony, along with a slew of party guests all stood staring at the dead demon lying on the table.

Suddenly, a roar came from up on the balcony. Faith and Angel both stared as a gigantic Lorne-monster jumped down to the floor.

Faith grinned evilly. "Guess we ordered the family-sized demon, huh? Fun for everyone." She rushed at the giant creature and started punching it wildly. She lifted her leg to kick it, but the dress limited her movement. The demon took his opening and tossed Faith across the room.

Angel watched as Faith slid into a wall. "Fred, Wes, go find Lorne's sleep now!"

"Got it." Fred helped Wesley over to the elevator.

Angel continuously attacked the demon without much success. His mind kept flashing back to the thought of Faith lying on the ground. Finally he heard the sound of Fred and Wesley approaching. "Shoot it, Fred!" He punched it's overly bloated body one last time before it exploded into pieces. Brushing off his suit, he rushed past Lorne's unconscious body and kneeled next to Faith. "You okay?"

Faith groaned quietly and nodded her head. She grasped Angel's outstretched hand and lifted herself up. "See, this is exactly why I don't wear dresses! I end up getting my ass kicked by the jolly green giant in a fluorescent suit." She huffed angrily.

Angel chuckled. "Could've been worse."

She cocked her head. "True… I could've lost to you." Her mouth split into a wide grin.

"I see that your ego wasn't damaged in the fight."

"Course not." A smile began to form, but stopped as soon as she looked into his eyes. She remembered the events from earlier and felt a rush of confusion hit her. "Uh, we should probably get Lorne off the floor."

Angel silently assented and left to help Lorne.

Faith shoved her fingers deep into her dark curls and released a long, slow breath. She was in far too deep.

------

Faith stood in a corner and quietly watched as Angel draped a blanket over Lorne's sleeping form. She fidgeted nervously, a habit that she never expected to pick up. As Angel walked over to her, she licked her lips, tasting her dried lipstick and immediately regretting the decision.

"Hey. How are you?" He tried his best to sound casual, but there was no denying his real purpose for coming over.

"Five by five. The usual." She handled the situation with the same level of casualty.

Angel finally decided to bring up what was weighing so heavily on both their minds. "Faith, about earlier… did you… were you just doing what Lorne told you?"

She hesitated with her answer. Fear flickered across her mind and she decided to do what she did best… hide her feelings. "Yeah. I guess Lorne messed with everyone, huh?"

Angel tentatively asked the big question. "What exactly did he tell you to do?"

"Thought that was kinda obvious. He told me to tell you that I loved you." The lie tasted like ashes in her mouth, but she didn't take it back.

"Why would he do that?" He could feel his anger towards Lorne intensify with each word.

"Maybe he thought it's what you needed to hear. Don't know why he thought you'd wanna hear it from me though." She forced a small burst of laughter.

Angel felt his heart involuntarily sink in his chest. "So, you didn't mean it." The words came out as less of a question, and more of a hollow statement.

Faith couldn't seem to find the right response. She gave him a brief smile and leaned up to brush a gentle kiss on his cheek. "I'll be seeing you."

Angel watched as she turned and walked out of his office. She didn't love him. He wished that he could accept that fact.

"You're just gonna let her go?" Spike walked up to stand by Angel.

"What else can I do?" Angel continued to stare at the door, holding on to the hope that she would walk back in.

"Maybe listen to that hunk of rock you call a heart for once."

"It was all an act, Spike. She doesn't love me."

"Whatever you say." Spike slipped through the wall, leaving Angel standing alone again.

Angel stood rooted to the same spot. She had to come back… because he had to tell her how he felt. After he finally realized that she was gone, he closed his eyes and whispered to the empty room, "I love you, too."


End file.
